Escape
by CrowNoYami
Summary: Waking up in The Empty wasn't supposed to happen. Gabriel knew he was supposed to remain asleep for the rest of time, however once woken the archangel finds an unlikely ally as he tries to find a way out.


**Author's Notes:** **This is two submission in one. First this fic was inspired by a fanart that I saw by lyselkatz on Tumblr. Secondly, since I was writing a one-shot anyway I decided to make it work for the Gabriel Monthly Challenge.**

 **GMC Prompt:** **Statement** : It was a new year, a time to leave behind the toxic things. Not fall back into the things that only hurt (him/her/them) in the past.

 **(sorry for those reading this on FFN links don't work)**

 **You can find the Gabriel Monthly Challenge HERE**

 **You can find lyselkatz HERE**

 **~This has been edited by QueenOfHearts**

 **Escape**

There was nothing. For the entirety of his existence, there was always something. Even in the very beginning before Dad made the humans before he was forced to flee Heaven and take up his place on Earth, there was something. Now as Gabriel opened his eyes, his vessel shouting back to him in pain, the archangel investigated the inky blackness and found that his world had changed from light and color to black.

Only one place was this vacant.

Bringing a hand to his face, Gabriel rubbed at his eyes, hopeful that he would be able to bring back color and sound, to be able to rub away the image of nothing that he knew would greet him. As he opened his eyes again, everything remained the same. Running a hand through his hair, the archangel wondered how exactly he managed to wake up in a place that was supposed to be for eternal sleep. Unlike the younger angels, the archangels knew what death would be like for them, finding peace in the fact that they would be asleep, undisturbed for the rest of time.

This wasn't asleep, and though he believed he could close his eyes and lay back into the cloud of nothing to continue his dreamless existence, something was nagging at the back of his mind. He couldn't give up yet, no matter how much he longed to do just that. After everything he had done to redeem himself, after pulling himself out of his state of horror and misery from Asmodeus, he needed to rise once again. Castiel had been right; there was hope for Heaven with the knowledge he had of its creation, knowledge no other besides an archangel could gain.

With slow movements, Gabriel stood from his bed of nothing and rose to his feet. With hesitant shuffles he made his way around the area, his hands outstretched as if he expected to run into something. There was, of course, nothing there, only the same blankness he could see, never-ending and always surrounding him. It could have been hours or years by the time he finally found something in the dark. It was another body, one he nearly tripped over while trying to make his way around. Still unable to see, Gabriel knelt beside the prone form and reached out, his hands trailing along the other's body to try and create an image in his mind.

"Who the hell are you?!" demanded a voice Gabriel could vaguely recall from years ago.

"Crowley?" asked the archangel, his eyes open but unseeing while his hands continued their trail, reaching up to the demon's face and nearly getting his fingers bitten for his efforts.

"Blimey Hell, Loki?" The memory of his former friend, his brother in arms, made Gabriel flinch back, pulling his hands away from the other man.

"That's what you knew me by. I'm Gabriel. I thought that you were tight with the boys? Didn't they keep you in the loop about their powerful allies?"

There was a snort, and Gabriel couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "Last I checked you were dead, seems like we both are now. So why are we awake?" Gabriel didn't have an answer for the demon. Instead, he stood once again, waiting until he could hear the rustling of clothing beside him as Crowley also made his way to his feet.

"The only one I know who managed to make his way out of this place was Castiel, and that was because of a power surge from Jack. I very much doubt my nephew woke us both up."

"Your nephew? That would be the boy who split open the rift, Lucifer's son. Have you come across anyone else since you've been awake?"

Shaking his head before he realized Crowley wouldn't be able to see, Gabriel sighed. "No, but I'm starting to think there's a reason it's just us. You died in the other universe, right? The one where Michael won?" Once Crowley confirmed his statement, Gabriel cursed. "That's where I died as well. My best guess? While we belong to The Empty, it doesn't know where exactly to put us. We belonged in one world but died in another. Since this kind of things doesn't happen every day it's possible there's no filing system for it."

"And what does that mean exactly? Until they open a new section, we're stuck awake?" Sighing Gabriel reached out and lay a tentative hand on the demon's arm. While it wasn't someone he had known well while alive it was only the two of them. He could use what little contact he could gain.

"Maybe, what I want to know is how The Empty travels between spaces if I'm right. If he can get in, there must be a doorway." Making sure to remain close to one another as not to separate too much in the darkness, both archangel and demon made their way around the space, trying to find a way out.

It wasn't until days or weeks later that Gabriel found something that they could work toward. It started as a whisper, of more than one voice calling to him. While it could have been a trap, the archangel dragged the former king of hell by the hand until the voices grew louder. "What the Bloody Hell, is that your doing?" Crowley cried out as Gabriel started to run.

"Praying," the archangel answered, a grin stretching his face. "I can hear people praying to me. I don't know what happened, but I think The Empty managed to leave this place a bit less secure than he should have. Come on!"

They ran for what felt like ages before it happened. A flash of bright white light appeared in front of them, causing both to shield their eyes before rushing toward it. What was once nothing, soon turned into light. It took all of a second for Gabriel to realize where they were, and while he knew he would be welcome with open arms, he had no way of knowing what world they had appeared in. Chancing that all exits would remain the same, Gabriel didn't pause to explain anything before pulling Crowley behind him and making a break for the way down.

"Gabriel! I swear you have got to stop dragging—" Whatever the demon was about to say was cut off as they were thrust to Earth. Panting, Gabriel finally let go of Crowley's hand, the demon beside him while they took a couple of steps away from a playground sandbox. A sandbox that wouldn't exist in the other world.

"We're home." Gabriel's words were barely whispered in wonder as if afraid speaking them out loud would cause them to become untrue. After a moment Crowley nodded, breathing deeply and stuffing his hands into the pockets of his overcoat.

"I'm not entirely sure how we managed it, but I can feel the souls of Hell from here… we're definitely in the right place." Gabriel looked to the demon he had managed to pull with him out of The Empty.

"Well, what do you say we scare the shit out of those Winchesters?" Crowley paused before rolling his eyes. They were both low on power, but together it wouldn't take much to arrive at the Men of Letters bunker. With a smirk on his lips, Gabriel ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he had enough grace to conjure some gel before Crowley let loose a sliver of his demonic energy, alerting those inside to his presence.

It wasn't Sam or Dean who answered the door but Castiel who took one look at who was at the doorway and had his angel blade in his hand. Holding up his palms, Gabriel laughed, thankful to see his baby brother once again. "It's okay, Cassie. Crowley and I broke out of The Empty. Apparently, you broke security in the place." Before the seraph could do anything, Gabriel pushed his way through and stood at the top of the staircase. It was so very different from how he had left the place. Instead of only the boys several people were walking about.

"I see that you let the people from the other world crash here. Nobody took my room, right?" Once again moving before Castiel could do more than stare, Gabriel was about to hop down when he spotted a flash of red. Turning, he wiggled his eyebrows at the small Scottish redhead. It wasn't him the woman had eyes for. She was looking with her mouth slightly agape at Crowley.

"Fergus?" questioned the woman. At that point Sam and Dean walked into the hallway, each holding a weapon in their hands.

"Hello Mother," spoke the demon, making Gabriel look between the two. This time when he laughed, Gabriel could hardly remain upright, tears trailing down his cheeks.

"Oh, my Dad… Tell me I can call him Son, Red!" it took a moment for Crowley to process before groaning, Rowena crossing her arms over her chest before falling into laughter.

They still had things that needed to be done. Even with his limited grace Gabriel could feel that not all was well in the world, but they were starting it right. Not with the toxic relationships and alliances from before. Instead, Gabriel swore that he would remain on the side of humanity, not allowing his brothers to drag him back into their chaos. It was time for a fresh beginning, crawling from the darkness of The Empty and into the light. 

**P.S. If you want to keep up to date on my writing add me to Facebook, Tumbler, Twitter or Instagram as CrowNoYami ;-) Also, if you want to see what I** **'m reading (I always review so you know what you're getting into) I'm on Goodreads as well, the same name as always.**


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